GR 162035; (November, 2004) (Digest)
G.R. No. 162035 , November 26, 2004
GILBERTO CANTORIA, petitioner, vs. HON. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS and CIRIACO P. LOMBOY, respondents.
FACTS
In the July 2002 barangay election for Poblacion East, Sta. Maria, Pangasinan, petitioner Gilberto Cantoria was initially proclaimed the winner with 233 votes against private respondent Ciriaco Lomboy’s 231 votes. Lomboy filed an election protest. After a revision of ballots, the Municipal Trial Court (MTC) found that Cantoria actually received 228 votes to Lomboy’s 231, and thus declared Lomboy the duly elected Barangay Captain. Cantoria appealed to the COMELEC, contesting the MTC’s appreciation of certain ballots as marked and the crediting of votes using nicknames.
The COMELEC Second Division dismissed Cantoria’s appeal and affirmed the MTC decision. Cantoria did not file a motion for reconsideration with the COMELEC. Instead, he directly elevated the case to the Supreme Court via a special civil action for certiorari, alleging that the COMELEC committed grave abuse of discretion in affirming the MTC ruling. He specifically challenged the appreciation of ballots containing nicknames like “Boyet Cantoria” and the application of the idem sonans rule to ballots with “Adong Lomboy.”
ISSUE
Whether the Supreme Court can properly entertain the petition for certiorari despite the petitioner’s failure to file a motion for reconsideration with the COMELEC and the consequent finality of the COMELEC resolution.
RULING
The Supreme Court dismissed the petition. The Court held that a special civil action for certiorari under Rule 65 is not a substitute for a lost appeal. The proper remedy from the COMELEC Division’s resolution was a timely motion for reconsideration filed within five days, as mandated by the COMELEC Rules of Procedure. By failing to file such a motion, the COMELEC resolution became final and executory. A petitioner cannot resort to certiorari due to his own neglect in pursuing the correct remedy.
Furthermore, the Court found no grave abuse of discretion warranting certiorari. The COMELEC’s affirmance of the MTC’s factual findings on ballot appreciation, including the proper crediting of votes using the idem sonans rule for “Adong” (sounding like the registered nickname “Acong”), was within its constitutional authority as the sole judge of barangay election contests. The petition essentially raised questions of fact, which are beyond the scope of certiorari.